Story A Day

My resolution for 2010…build a stronger immune system!  The latter half of 2009 has been one ailment after another for me.  Ever since my bout with what we assume was H1N1, I seem to catch every cold or virus that comes my way – blah!  Tim had a yucky stomach bug over the weekend, and I was determined to make this the example of how my immune system could ward it off – with sheer will and a lot of hand sanitizer! No such luck.  I came down with it overnight on Monday, and am just starting to feel mostly normal again.  So, bring on 2010 – the year of the unbeatable immune system!

I met up with some college friends today in one of their hometowns.  Two of us currently reside in MN, the others are visiting from Alaska and Boston.  It was a rare opportunity to all hang out together, and we had a great time catching up!  I captured some photos of the event, Heather’s son certainly stole the show!  Click here for the full album.  Here’s one highlight…

Tonight we planned to eat some yummy Boboli pizza for dinner, only to notice after spreading the pizza sauce on the crust that our Mozzarella cheese was moldy…hmmm, I guess we haven’t been eating enough pizza lately.  So, cheddar cheese it was!  Tim decided that sharp cheddar in combination with pepperoni might be a little intense, so we stuck to green peppers as the only topping.  I actually didn’t notice that much of a difference, it was pretty good!  Mmmmmm…yummy…

Tim and I were very grateful that we made it to both family Christmas celebrations, despite the threat that the weather imposed.  For a while, we thought driving back to the city on Christmas day might be a challenge, but it turned out okay.  Here was a view from the passenger seat on the way home, and a view of the snow in front of our house…

I did a haphazard job of snapping photos at the Christmas gatherings, but I did manage to capture some photos.  As you’ll see, I am a big fan of snapping shots of our adorable niece and nephew! Thanks to both of our families for a wonderful time together!  Check out the album of our photos from Christmas.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

I was invited to attend a holiday gathering at my former place of employment today, and it was a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends, and enjoy the serene setting.  I didn’t get photos with/of everyone (I missed seeing you today, Lynette & Barbara…in case you are reading ), but here are a few I did manage to capture…

Since we purchased our home, we’ve planned to replace the doors and trim for all of the upstairs rooms, but it’s one of those projects that fell by the wayside when we prioritized finishing the basement (in order to have a guest room), and making repairs after the tree fell on our house.   So, we FINALLY got around to completing the door/trim project, with the help of the contractor who is finishing our bathroom.  We spent time this fall staining and varnishing all of the doors, and trim, so all that was left was installation.  Here are a few before and after shots…

BEFORE
 

AFTER
 

My mom, sisters, and I started a tradition of getting together each year before Christmas and making all of our family favorites.  Today we made sugar cookies, butterballs (aka: Russian tea cakes), and Magic Cookie Bars (aka: seven layer bars).  I’m not really sure how they got the names that we’ve always used By any name, they are yummy!  We each left with tins of cookies, and had a good time catching up.  Christy got here from her home in Virginia just in time, since the snowstorm rolled in just hours after their plane took off yesterday- phew!  Here’s a photo of my mom and sisters that we snapped during the festivities:

7:00 am – Cell phone rings, the name shows as that of one of our tenants.
7:00 am + 2 seconds – In unison, Tim and I both say, “Oh no…what’s wrong…”
7:00 am + 4 seconds – A conversation ensues, in which I learn that the relatively new furnace at one of our rental properties has ceased blowing warm air, and is only blowing regular old relatively cold air.  I tell them I’ll call a technician right away (and proceed to wonder how much time we have before fear of pipes freezing).
7:05 am – I reach Minnegasco and schedule an appointment, at a rate $95 for the first 1/2 hour and $25 for every ensuing 15-minute increment + cost of parts for repair.  Ugh.  In the midst of the conversation, the very kind receptionist asks how recently the furnace filter was changed, and I reply that these particular tenants are pretty go about that, so I doubt that it’s the issue.  Apparently, if the filter gets too dirty, most newer furnaces have a sensor telling it to stop producing heat as a precaution.  I make the appointment, but also make a note to contact the tenants right away to give the furnace filter idea a shot.
7:07 am – I call the tenants back, and share my new found knowledge about the possibility of the filter being the issue.  They comment that it probably has been a bit too long since they changed (I make a mental note of how to be more on top of that as a landlord).
7:20 am – The tenants call back, the furnace filter was really dirty, they changed it, and the furnace is blowing out heat again!  I internally cheer and breathe a sigh of relief…expensive furnace fiasco averted (for now, anyway, hopefully I don’t get another call tomorrow!).

Side note for the curious:  I’ve learned from many a home inspector that the cheapest furnace filters available are the best.  They note that the filters are meant to be mechanical filters, not indoor air filters, and the super high filter ones can cause the blower motors to burn out more quickly, especially if they are not changed really often.  Hmmmm…Maybe we need to check on which filters we provided for the tenants!

Random, off-topic PS:  Tim and I went to dinner downtown with some friends tonight, and we saw the Harlem Globetrotters that were recently on the Amazing Race

As a Christmas gift to their mom, Tim’s sister paid for a formal family photo shoot a couple weekends ago.  In search of warm places to gather a group of our size, we ended up taking photos at the State Capitol (since Tim’s mom is a State Rep, and there are some great photo spots!).  Here’s one taken by the huge Christmas tree in the rotunda (Photo credit: Scott Bolster Photography…

As the temperature hovers around zero, I am reminded of all the drafty places in our house.  For instance, laying on the living room floor to stretch…not a good idea.  There is a hefty draft from the base of the front door.  Time to get out the draft blocker!  Sitting in the far right chair of the kitchen table…not a good idea.  For some reason that window is especially airy, or maybe it’s just the only one where we have a chair positioned in such close proximity that it’s noticeable I’m glad we have the heated blanket on the bed!